Could a lie in dramatically improve your life? Experts call for workers to start at 10AM to improve sleep quality.
- Every hour that work was delayed, people got 20 minutes more sleep
- 'Delaying the morning start time of work' could have a major effect
- 124,517 American adults sleep and work habits were analysed
A major new study of American workers and their sleep patterns has recommended later start times to improve on health.
Experts said 'delaying the morning start time of work,' or making it flexible, could have a major effect. They found that for every hour that work was delayed, people got 20 minutes more sleep.
After analyzing results from 124,517 American adults on their sleep and work habits, as recorded in the American Time Use Surveys from 2003 to 2011, lead author Dr. Mathias Basner of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues found an association between earlier starting times for work or school and less time spent sleeping.
'Results show that with every hour that work or educational training started later in the morning, sleep time increased by approximately 20 minutes,' the researchers said.
'Respondents slept an average of only 6 hours when starting work before or at 6 a.m. and 7:29 hours when starting work between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.'
The new study shows that paid work time is the primary waking activity exchanged for sleep and suggests that chronic sleep loss potentially could be prevented by strategies that make work start times more flexible.
Results show that work is the dominant activity exchanged for less sleep across practically all categories.
Compared to normal sleepers, short sleepers who reported sleeping 6 hours or less worked 1.55 more hours on weekdays and 1.86 more hours on weekends or holidays, and they started working earlier in the morning and stopped working later at night.
